Life Sentence for "Worst Form of Manslaughter"

Chronicle (Levin), 15 August 1949, Page 4

Life Sentence for "Worst Form of Manslaughter"

■ Press Association)

(Per

AUCKLAND, August 12. William Puha Mattheivs, aged 2S, a Maori who stabbed an lndian bot-tle-dealev to death, was sentenced by Mr. Justice Finlay in the Supreme Court today to imprisonment with hard labour for life. ' ( The charge you faced was murder — a particularly vicious murder," said the Judge. "Tho juiy, liowever, sa\v fit to eonviet you of manslaughter. I don 't understand why 3'ou went to the Nelson iStreet house forearmed to murder. You were encountered b}r an innocent Iudian who was eolleoting bottles. On your word you grabbed him b.v the shoulders and he tried to hit 3*on with an empty bottle. Then you stabbed him severai times. I see no ground for the plea of provocation, ' ' Judge Finlay said any finding of self-defence would be a perversion of the principles on which self-defence rested. The faot was that the lndian diselosed accused's preseiice in the washhouse and published it to tho household by calling out, and accusedo silenced him. ' ' All I can conelude is that it is the werst caae of manslaughter pos.sible, and I can onlv inipose the sentence that the law pri1-. . scribes for the worst eases," the Judge added in passiug a life. sentence. Before sentence was passed defence connsel (Mr. G. Skelton) said the falsity of fke wojnan whorn prisoner loved and lived vfeitli had played upon his mind and nerves. He was Avellspoken and well-mannered.